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Sam Allardyce's prospects of becoming Manchester City’s next manager have been thrown into doubt because a former Prime Minister of Thailand has emerged as the front-runner to take over the club.
Thaksin Shinawatra, who failed in attempts to buy into Liverpool, is preparing to make a preliminary offer to the City board as early as this week in direct rivalry to the £90 million deal fronted by former player Ray Ranson. Allardyce, who has three years left on his contract at Bolton, is believed to have been told that the job is his if Ranson’s bid succeeds.
But it now appears he may have to convince Shinawatra that he is the man to lead a new regime.
Allardyce did not attend the post-match Press conference following Bolton’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea yesterday. His assistant, Sammy Lee, said: ‘Sam’s not well. He didn’t travel with the team.’
Of reports that Allardyce had already quit Bolton, Lee said: ‘It is only speculation. We have a great bunch of players and the speculation won’t affect them. We’re desperate to make the UEFA Cup place. We just wanted that point today.’
Shinawatra’s proposals are understood to trump the money on the table from Ranson and funds have already been lodged with an investment bank. If the City board look at Shinawatra’s plans and believe he is a credible investor, they will allow him and his bank to conduct due diligence on the club’s books with a view to making a formal offer to shareholders.
While City manager Stuart Pearce will not be impressed by the intrigue behind the scenes, he has long been thought likely to leave the club this summer and become full-time coach of England’s Under-21 team. Pearce and the City board rowed about him combining his job at the club with the part-time role, and the FA’s determination to make it a full-time post offers a convenient solution.
For City chairman John Wardle and his fellow directors, the bigger challenge has been to find an investor to transform the club, about £50m in debt, from relegationthreatened also-rans into contenders.
The Ranson proposal is not popular with most of the board. There are worries that his backers, Sisu Capital Private Equity Fund, would be more interested in a quick profit than City’s long-term development.